Interim
by Digitaldreamer
Summary: Of all the things they had faced, none were quite as difficult as the year spent waiting for him to come back. xX Postgame Xx
1. Wait

**-Interim-  
A Tales of the Abyss fic by Digitaldreamer  
Part One: Wait  
---  
**_  
_

_Soooo I beat the game. It was a beautiful ending, that it was, there was lots of crying involved because I'm a sap. And after the emotional blubbering over me beating this game, I had to wonder...what had gone on between Luke's disappearance and reappearance? What happened to everyone? Luke was gone for a long time...how many of them kept believing he'd come back?_

_Right. so basically...yeah, this is a fic chronicling the party's wait for Luke. I've heard it said that the game took two years, even though everyone keeps saying Luke is seven years old throughout the whole thing, so I'm going to go with saying this fic covers a year. Um...yeah. Hopefully I'll get everyone right...this is my first time really writing all of the characters but Luke and Guy seriously, and I think I got some better than others. If any of them seem off, I apologize._

_Um, as for pairings...there's probably going to be some obvious Tear/Luke hints, as well as a bit of Guy/Luke and Guy/Natalia. Nothing really blatantly shippy though, so take it all as you will._

_Anyway, on with the fic!  
_**  
Warning: Here be spoilers for the entire game, folks. Oh, and also, I don't own ToA, because if I did there'd be a lot more gay.  
**  
---

It hurt to watch. It burned to keep their eyes upon him, the golden light of sunset acting seeming to catch his hair aflame, reflecting off of the blade of the Key of Lorelei as it was hefted into the air. It was as if he were compromised mainly of the sixth and fifth fonons as opposed to the seventh, the light of the sacred flame becoming tangible as they watched him for the last time, their eyes stinging and hearts twisting as if they would be torn apart.

It hurt to watch, and so they turned away, forcing themselves to walk with hurried steps through the resurrected city, forcing themselves to leave when they all wanted nothing more than to run back and take him with them. It hurt to watch as Eldrant began to crumble around them, buildings that whispered of tales long since lost and forgotten shattering as if made of glass. It hurt to watch as five sets of shoes finally hit the grass and paused by the Albiore, and still they turned once more.

Turned and watched as stone crumbled, ancient technology roaring in protest like a dying beast as it was crushed. Water shot up to swallow the sinking city once more, and all they could do was watch as a light shown from the center of it, flickering and shining like a flame.

It hurt to watch as that too disappeared, and finally it all sunk into the horizon.

And then all they could do was wait.

---

They spent three days camped outside the ruins of Eldrant, waiting. It was a heavy, tense sort of waiting, filled with short bursts of forced happy moments that were quickly killed by glances towards the horizon. They spent the time mending wounds, cleaning weapons, and ensuring the Albiore was in working order, but there was no rest for them. Sleepless nights passed with eyes forced closed for minutes at a time, only to open again and find the horizon was as empty as it was five minutes earlier.

They spent three days of this, and finally it was Jade who broke the tense almost-silence. "Well..." He began, hands shoved into his pockets as he gazed out at the third sunset, his glasses reflecting the soft orange light. "I do hate to put a damper on this little party, but it _has_ been three days."

Guy stiffened from his ever-kept vigil on top of a rock. "What do you mean? He'll be here."

"Oh, of that I have little doubt...however, at this point, I'm afraid I _do_ have other duties to preform." Jade said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "I'm sure his Majesty is simply dying to know what has happened here... it was meant to be my duty to inform him of that."

Anise frowned, looking up from where she'd been fiddling with Tokunaga. "Well...the Colonel does have a point..." She muttered, tugging absently on a button eye she'd just finished fixing. "I should really probably get to Daath to tell the news."

"Indeed...it is the duty of the Princess to inform her people..." Natalia murmured, brushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

Guy glanced back at them, brow furrowing. "But...we're supposed to be waiting for Luke."

Anise huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Geez Guy, it's not like we're giving up on him!" She huffed.

Natalia shook her head. "No, we would never even consider that! Luke promised us,_ of course_ he'll be back!" She declared, clasping her hands together.

"Indeed... but even so, I cannot imagine he would be terribly happy if we simply shunned our duties in our wait for him." Jade stated.

Guy stared at them, blue eyes dark, then let out a breath and turned back towards the horizon.

"Mieeeu..." Mieu whimpered, his ears drooping. "Master..."

Natalia glanced down at the creature in her lap, then forced a smile. "Mieu..." She began gently, patting him on the head. "Don't worry...he'll be back."

"Yeah, don't worry! He'll be back and calling you 'Thing' again before you know it!" Anise agreed, forcing her own grin.

"R-right!" Mieu agreed, forcing himself to perk up. "A-and then he'll kick me again and everything will be back to normal!"

Natalia winced. "You really should not consider that normal..." She muttered, but went ignored.

"Perhaps it is time to get him home as well..." Jade murmured as he glanced at Mieu. "By now he has long fulfilled his debt...and the Sorcerer's Ring really ought to be returned."

Mieu's ears drooped again. "B-but...I wanna stay here and wait for Master!" He whined, hopping up and down.

"Mieu, calm down..." Natalia hushed, stilling the cheagle as she stood from her spot, stretching her legs. "I'm certain that when Luke returns, he'll come visit you. I will make sure of it. Now come...we really must take you home."

"Mieu..."

"Noelle?" Jade turned towards the pilot, his tone buisness-like.

The blonde flashed a smile and saluted, though her eyes were sad. "I'd be glad to fly you all home." She offered.

"Good." Jade nodded, turned back to the group. "Well then...shall we?"

Slowly, they all stood from their spots and began to trek towards the airship, their steps heavy and unwilling even as they forced themselves not to look back yet again. There wasn't going to be anyone silhouetted against that sunset...not the one they were waiting for, anyway.

"Tear..." A gloved hand fell upon her shoulder, and the only one who had yet to speak still did not look away from the horizon. "...Tear." Jade tried again, voice hardening somewhat. If he wanted to get through to her, he'd have to speak to her soldier side. The rest was far beyond his reach right now. "Do you not have duties as an Oracle Knight that you should be attending to?"

Tear was silent for a moment. "...I do."

"Then perhaps it is time to be returning to that...I am sure Teodoro would like to see if you're alright, at any rate." Jade said, releasing her shoulder and reaching up to adjust his glasses again.

"...I suppose you're right." Tear murmured after a few more seconds of silence. She stood gracefully, eyes remaining on the horizon line for a moment, though they seemed to be looking farther, beyond where any of them could hope to see. She then turned, her long hair dancing in the wind. "...Guy?"

The blond did not even glance up from polishing his sword, though it had been shined beyond the point of needing it before the first day had even ended. "I'm not going."

Jade frowned. "Guy,--" He began, his tone hard again, but the former servant cut him off.

"I don't have any duties to return to at the moment. I have no reason to leave." Guy stated, refusing to look at any of them. "I..." He trailed off, his shoulders tensing, but did not finish the sentence. It was fine, because they were all capable of interpreting the meaning anyway.  
_  
Everything I have has fallen here.  
_  
"Guy..." Anise murmured, her arms tightening as she hugged Tortunaga closer to herself.

"I'm staying." Guy declared, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Natalia bit her lip, squeezing her arms around herself as if she were cold. "Guy--"

"He'll want someone here to greet him when he gets back...you know?" The blond said quietly.

There was a heavy sort of silence as the group all gazed at the ruins of Eldrant a final time.

"...Of course...I think he'll appreciate that." Tear said finally.

"Indeed." Natalia nodded, a smile coming to her face.

"Yeah...you'd better call us the moment he shows, you got that?" Anise declared.

Guy nodded, though he did not turn around.

"Well now, that settles that. Shall we be going?" Jade asked, glancing around at his respective charges. With a chorus of nods and agreements, the group slowly turned and made their way towards the Albiore.

The final image burnt into their minds before the great airship took off was the image of Guy resolutely silhouetted against the sunset, polishing his sword and waiting for someone who, they were already beginning to suspect, would never come.

---

"...and then Eldrant began to collapse. We made it out safely, but unfortunately Luke to stay behind to free Lorelei...so he went down with the city. We waited three days for him, but he had yet to return, so regrettably I took my leave to report to you. " Natalia finally finished, her voice ringing through her father's quarters.

All was silent for a moment, then King Ingobert spoke from his seat at the head of the table. "So then...at last, this mess is finally over."

"Indeed...though I would not say it's over entirely, there is much rebuilding to be done." Duke fon Fabre said, his expression grim.

"Perhaps, but I am certain if peace continues with Malkuth, we can work together and things will be fine." Natalia stated.

The King gave a nod, rubbing his chin. "Indeed...and after all this, I am certain Emperor Peony will be more than happy to do so, as are we."

A silence fell over the room, each occupant lost in thought.

"So...that is it then." Lady Susanne spoke, her voice wavering slightly as she wrung her manicured hands. "My boys..." She trailed off, voice cracking as tears came to her eyes.

Natalia bit her lip. "I..." She shook her head. "Asch is dead, Luke confirmed that much." She murmured, reaching up to clutch at her heart, struggling to keep her voice from cracking. It still felt too soon to speak of it, somehow, but it had to be done. "H-he sacrificed himself so we could go on ahead...he died a hero."

"Is that so?" Duke fon Fabre murmured, his eyes closing as he nodded. "I would expect no less from my son...no, my _sons_." He amended. "It seems we have lost them both in one fell swoop..."

His wife gave a soft sob, putting her face in her hands. "I-I had hoped they would both return...this isn't fair..."

"Susanne..." The Duke murmured, looping an arm around her. "I know..."

The King gave a heavy sigh, putting his face in his hands. "It seems, in the end, no matter what we did...we were sending both to their deaths, weren't we?"

"Father, do not talk like that!" Natalia chided, her voice ringing through the room. "Aunt Susanne, Uncle...please, do not grieve so hastily. I merely said _A-Asch_--" here her voice cracked, but still she continued. "--was dead."

The Duke glanced up at her, his dark green eyes so similar to Asch's as he studied her. "You mean to tell me one of my sons is still alive?"

"I..." Natalia faltered slightly, biting her lip as she hugged her arms to herself. "He promised...just because he has yet to appear cannot mean--"

Her father glanced up at her, his expression one of pity. "Natalia...Colonel Curtiss said his seventh fonons were dissipating, correct? It's quite possible he faded away after releasing Lorelei...if that was the case, there would be no body to emerge from the ruins of Eldrant."

Natalia shook her head. "No...no, Luke...he promised. He will come." She declared, her voice taking on a confident edge again as her expression changed to match it.

Duke Fabre frowned. "You are sure of this?"

His niece nodded solemnly. "I am."

Her father gave a sigh. "Very well...we will list him as missing for the time being. But if he does not appear within a few months... people are going to want a memorial to honor their hero, and if we wait too long..."

Natalia turned away. "Very well...but carving a gravemarker for someone who is not yet dead is in bad taste." She declared calmly before making her way for the door.

Lady Susanne peered at her, her face still tearstained. "Natalia...are you certain?"

The blonde paused at the door, then gave a small smile. "I am. He will come. We just have to wait." With that, she tugged on the nob and stepped out of the room, making her way through the hall in a brisk stride, a new mantra upon her lips.

"Yes... surely, he will come."

_---  
_  
"So...that's it, then." Peony murmured as he reclined in his throne, propping his head up with a tanned arm.

"Indeed." Jade took drained the last of his tea, then set it into it's saucer and passed it to a waiting maid with a nod. "Granted, there is still much to do...but the world can finally begin to settle down, at any rate."

"It's about time... of course, I doubt that applies to you, you're always up to something." The emperor smirked, nodding to his best friend. "No rest for the wicked, eh?"

"Why Your Majesty, are you implying that I am wicked in any way?" Jade gasped, feigning hurt. "I'm the very picture of innocence, I'll have you know."

Peony chuckled and shook his head. "Of course, you're a regular angel, who was I kidding?" He ran his fingers through his hair, gazing out the window. "Still, I have to wonder...when will I be seeing my adorable little Luke again?" He murmured, a faraway look coming to his eyes.

It was then that the doors to the throne room were edged open and a maid poked her head in. "Your Majesty, I'm done giving Luke his bath."

"Really!?" Peony gasped, sounding excited as he leaped from his throne and clapped his hands together. "Bring him in!"

The doors opened farther and a pink rappig poked it's head in, blinking in the light. "Luke!" Peony cried out, rushing across the throne room and throwing his arms around his pet. "Oooh, you smell so good! Isn't it great to be all squeaky clean again, my adorable little Luke!?" He gushed, planting kisses all over the creature, whom seemed quite happy with the attention.

Jade gave a sigh as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "That truly is disturbing...even without Guy or Tear here I'm treated with displays of more sickening affection for any Luke than I'd like to see."

Peony glanced up at Jade and stuck out his tongue. "You're just jealous."

"Hardly." Jade drawled, adjusting his glasses as he gazed down at the creature. It blinked up at him for a moment, then gave a snort, it's expression one of blank, idiotic glee. "It _is_ living up to it's namesake quite admirably, though." He added dryly.

Peony seemed to be ignoring that comment as he scratched the creature behind the ears, cooing softly. However, a glance upon the emperor's features revealed a thoughtful, somewhat grim expression. "In all seriousness, though...do you really think Luke will return?"

Jade frowned thoughtfully. "I...am somewhat unsure. However, fate has certainly tried hard enough to get rid of him, and in spite of it's best efforts, Luke has always failed to die. With that, and the fact that he promised...I believe it would certainly take quite a situation for him to not return."

His best friend was silent for a moment, he simply knelt there, still petting the rappig. "...Eldrant did fall pretty far." He finally said. "And after Rem...his seventh fonons would have had to be terribly low. You said so yourself...there was no way for him to come out of that alive."

"Indeed." Jade stuck his hands into his pockets, crimson gaze going to the high ceiling. "I have...a theory. It is quite a wild one, however."

Peony glanced up at him, blinking. "A wild one, huh?"

"Yes...nearly impossible." Jade murmured. "However..." The military commander trailed off for a moment, then gave a small smile and adjusted his glasses. "That boy has never failed to surprise me before...why would he start now?"

The emperor of Malkuth's brow furrowed as he stood. "So then...you believe..."

"That Luke will return?" Jade considered this for a moment. "I am not entirely certain...but...if there was any chance at all..."

"Certainly, he will come."

_---  
_  
"...Annnd it's ready!" Anise finally declared, setting the bubbling pot of soup on the table in front of her mother and father.

"Oh Anise, it looks delicious!" Her mother gasped, eyes wide. "Although it _is_ your first night back, you really don't have to cook..."

Anise beamed as she took a seat at the table, though she made sure Tortunaga was situated in his own seat first. Once she was certain he was sitting straight, his demonic grin cast at her father, she settled down. "And let dad cook instead? Please. Besides, I've been wanting to show you both some of the recipes I learned during my journey!"

Her mother laughed as she began to spoon out bowls and pass them around, while her father smiled sheepishly. "We're just happy to see you're finally home, sweetie." He said gently.

"Indeed." Her mother smiled as she passed a bowl to Anise. "We're proud you're a hero now, but that doesn't mean we aren't glad to see our little heroine's finally home."

"Yeah, yeah." Anise rolled her eyes, though she was still smiling. "I never thought I'd say it, but it's nice to be back." She said, swallowing a mouthful of her soup. "Even with everything that's happened...it _is_home..." The girl trailed off, a faraway look coming to her eyes.

"...Anise?" Her father gently nudged her after a moment, brow furrowing.

The brunette blinked, then shook her head. "Sorry, I was just thinking." She smiled again. "Anyway, um...now that I'm home, I figure now's as good a time as any to bring it up!" Anise said, her expression bright even as she took on a slightly more business-like tone. "Father, Mother..." She cleared her throat. "I'm going to try to become the Fon Master."

Silence.

"Oh, Anise..." Her mother gasped. "W-what a wonderful goal!"

"Y-yes!" Her father nodded. "Very high aspirations..."

Anise quirked a brow at them. "What? You don't think I can do this?"

"N-no, of course not! It's not that, Anise!" Her father insisted.

His daughter huffed, folding her arms. "I know it's going to be tough. There's never been a girl Fon Master before...but I _know_ I can do this!" She stated.

"Of course sweetie, you're very talented." Her mother said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I have no doubt that you're Fon Master material...but--"

"...the money..." Her father finished gently.

"Money?" Anise grinned. "Don't worry about money, _that_ won't be a problem."

Her father took a deep breath. "Anise, you know how we feel about gathering money for our own gains--"

"I'm not going to steal it!" Anise snapped. "Please, I've learned by now!"

Her mother frowned. "Then where...?"

Anise smiled. "I'm going to have a patron." She declared.

"A patron?" Her father repeated, brow furrowing. "Really? Who?"

At this Anise's expression darkened slightly, brown eyes dropping to her cooling bowl of soup as she slumped in her seat. "Well...he's a noble...he might be awhile, though." She murmured, stirring her spoon into the liquid.

"What do you mean?"

Anise stiffened slightly, biting her lip. After a moment, she replied. "...He's gone somewhere far away, that's all."

Her parents gazed at her for a moment, worried expressions on their faces. "Anise..." Her mother spoke, reaching for her daughter's shoulder.

Before she could touch her, however, Anise perked up, her smile plastered on her face again. "Well, he promised he'd come back, so there's nothing to worry about!" She chirped.

Her father blinked at her. "R-really? Well, that's good then!" He said, hiding his startled expression at his daughter's sudden change in demeanor. "When will he be coming back?"

Anise's cheer fell slightly. "Well...I'm not sure..." She stirred her soup again, then took a sip. "But he promised...so there's nothing to worry about. He'll come back, and I'll be able to become the very first female Fon Master! Everything will work out!" She declared.

Her mother beamed. "That's fantastic, honey!"

Her father nodded, grinning as well. "We're behind you every step of the way!"

Anise smiled and nodded. "Great! Then there's no need to worry about money for this thing, so let's just focus on everything else, okay? All we have to do is wait a bit."

"I'm sure, he'll come."

---

She knew it hadn't been that long since she'd been here, but it still felt like it'd been years as she stepped over the threshold of the door and into her garden. The moonlight shimmered through the tinted glass and Tear couldn't help but smile, the soft blue glow of the selanias reflecting in her eyes.

"It's been awhile..." She murmured, and though she knew it wasn't entirely true it felt that way, as if she were speaking to an old friend.

The Oracle Knight stepped out into the garden without another word, treading gently through the flowers. Finally she came to the alter of stones that made up Van's memorial, and it was here that she stopped.

"Brother... I'm back." She whispered, her hair sliding from her back and trailing to the grass in silky tangles as she knelt in a respectful bow. She reached up and clutched at her pendent as she closed her eyes in prayer, taking a deep breath.

Here, she almost felt as if her brother were still alive. _Her_ brother, the one who had raised her and taught her to smile, not the twisted monster who had finally fallen by her own hand. Here, she could feel his heavy hand upon her shoulder, could hear his comforting, deep voice rumbling in her ears. Here and here alone, Van was still alive...here and here alone, Van would be a hero.

When she was finished praying, Tear opened her eyes, gazing up at the moon, which was now half full. The brunette bit her lip, gloved hands clenching as she recalled the last time she'd seen it full...and the many times before that. The moments spent in this garden with him, his green eyes sparkling as he reached the edge of that decision, his smile in the moonlight as she promised...

She shook her head. No. She was not going to start reminiscing. She would not. To reminisce, to think in past tense, was to act as if he were gone...and Luke was not gone, not like her brother. He had promised, and so had she. She would watch him, and continue to do so, for a long time.

She would watch him when he came back, and she would tell him what she had said once before and they both already knew.

The young woman took a shaky breath, fighting against the pressure behind her eyes as she opened her mouth and began to sing, the comforting words of the Grand Fonic Hymn filling the air.

Tear would not grieve. She would not grieve, and she would not cry. She would be strong, for him.

She would be strong, for surely, he would come.  
_  
---  
_  
It was a month and a half before any of them saw Guy again. When Jade had heard the news of the Malkuth noble being spotted slowly making his way towards the gates of Grand Chokmah, he seemed quite indifferent.

"Are you certain?" He had asked, not even looking up from his paperwork.

"Well, it was a woman who spotted him, and she said when she came near him to ask if he was alright he screamed bloody murder..." The messenger said, scratching his head.

"Ah. Well, I suppose that would do it." Jade drawled, setting aside a finished form and taking another. "I assume you had some great reason for bothering me?" He glanced over the rims of his glasses at the messenger, crimson eyes flashing.

The messenger flinched at these words. The man appeared to be rather young, likely hadn't been graduated from the academy for very long...Jade hated it when they sent him grunts."I-I...we assumed you would like to be informed...he seems rather worse for wear, sir..." The young man mumbled.

"Ah." Jade shrugged noncommittally, continuing his work.

The messenger stood in the doorway of his office, looking rather uncomfortable as he watched Jade work. "Um...Colonel Curtiss?" He spoke after a moment.

Jade glanced up from his paperwork, eyes narrowing. "Yes?"

It was to the messenger's credit that he didn't scream and run at that look, he managed to scrape off only appearing vaguely terrified. "I-I...will you be seeing him?"

The Colonel stared blankly at him for a moment and the messenger cringed, fearing the worst. Finally, Jade shrugged and looked back to his work. "Oh, if I must..." He muttered, though he continued to work.

"Then I will inform them of your coming?" The messenger asked, appearing relieved.

"I do believe I implied that, didn't I?" Jade drawled.

"I-I suppose you did, sir...alright, I-I'll be going then." The young man stuttered, turning and making as if to leave.

It was only when his hand was on the door knob that Jade spoke again.

"If I may ask...were there two that were sighted on the way in?"

The messenger paused, blinking. "No, sir. There was only one, why?"

Silence.

"...No reason." Jade murmured, adjusting his glasses. "Go on ahead and inform them of my coming, will you?"

The messenger nodded and did as he was told, trying not to appear too relieved to finally get out of the room. The door slammed shut, leaving nothing but the sound of the clock ticking from the wall to break the silence. Jade sighed, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You had better return to clean up this mess you've left us with soon, boy... I'm far too old to deal with this sort of thing."

---

The Malkuth House of Nobles was in utter chaos, servants rushing each and every way. Maids whispered to each other in the hallways, strains of rumors as to where their master had been for so long when even the Colonel had returned floating from room to room.

The source of these rumors was currently doing everything in his power to extract himself from the maids, whom were trying to coax him out of his torn, dirty clothes and take a bath.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, please don't worry." Guy said gently, trying to ward the women off and suppress the urge to scream as they edged closer. "Really, I promise I'll get a bath, alright? I can take care of myself, don't worry."

"But Master, you're hurt--" A maid began, only to have Guy hold up a hand to silence her.

"I'll take care of it, alright? I wouldn't want a pretty girl like yourself worrying over me." He said, flashing a smile. The woman turned a bright red, then immediately edged away, babbling something about going to draw a bath before turning and rushing away. The blond blinked in confusion, then shrugged and opened the door to his room, stepping inside with a sigh.

"Well now, it certainly took you long enough." Guy didn't even need to look up to know Jade was lounging in one of his chairs, a book open in his lap.

"Why hello to you too, Jade." The blond said dryly as he shrugged off his torn vest, tossing it on his bed in a manner that would have made Luke proud. "Enjoying my library?"

Jade gave a sigh as he shut the book in front of him. "You really ought to buy some books on fontech that aren't written by me, I--" He paused in midsentence as he got a good look at Guy."Oh." He murmured.

Guy really did look like hell. His clothes were soaked in blood and torn haphazardly, dirt covering his body. There were dark circles under his eyes, his tanned skin appearing paler than usual as he stood there, slowly peeling off articles of torn clothing. At Jade's quirked brow the blond shrugged. "Liger attack. I get unlucky, that's all." He explained. "And I ran out of gels, but I didn't want to leave too soon, so..."

The military commander gazed at him for a moment, crimson eyes narrowing. "My. It appears even without him around, his bouts of stupidity manage to live on." He drawled, clicking his tongue.

The blond turned away at that, busying himself with unclasping his boots. "You know, if you really wanted to see me, you could have at least waited until I'd gotten cleaned up a bit." Guy said conversationally as he kicked one off.

"And miss the sight of you undressing? Hardly, an old man has to get his thrills where he can." Jade chirped.

Guy paused, turning to glare at the older man. "...That's really, really gross to even think about, Jade." He said, giving a shudder.

Jade beamed, which only succeeded in causing Guy to shiver again. His expression then became businesslike. "Stressed enough to go picking fights, then lying about it...that's hardly like you." The former servant looked away again, sapphire eyes staring pointedly at the wall, refusing to reply to that. Jade pressed on, however, rising from his seat. "Indeed, that's the type of emotional thing I would expect you to get after _him_ for."

"I don't need you to tell me that." Guy muttered, focusing on undoing his belt. The green leather snaked it's way to the floor as he hefted up the Sword of Gardios, sapphire eyes darkening as he gazed down at the treasured weapon.

He'd made a promise to get the sword...and now he had no one here to fulfill his pledge to.

"I'm aware." Jade drawled, his crimson eyes darkening. "Hence why I am telling you now... do _not_do it again. I'll feel no guilt about calling a certain princess, Oracle Knight, and Fon Master Guardian to make you regret returning alive."

Guy snorted as he moved across the room, carrying the revered sword with him. "Relax, I have no intention of doing anything like that again." He stated as he placed the sword onto a mantel on the wall. "I made him promise to keep living...so I'll do the same for him."

Jade gazed at him in silence for a moment, expression blank. "...It is unwise, to carry on for the past like that." He warned.

"The past?" The blond chuckled. "I have no intention of living in the past...Luke changed that a long time ago." He glanced back at Jade and smiled. "I'm living for the future...because he's going to come back."

The military officer gazed at him, brow furrowing. "...Guy--"

"Don't." Guy interrupted, and though the smile remained on his face his eyes darkened. "He's going to come back, he promised. So for now...I'll just do my duties and get ready for that day." His smile widened as he turned back to the sword on the mantel, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah...I'm sure, he's going to come."

---

It was warm.

It was warm, comforting...it was warm.

It was warm, and for now, that was all that mattered.

...Wasn't it?

No, no...there was something he was forgetting, something he was missing...he couldn't stay here.

But where was here? And for that matter, _why_ was he here?

...Who was _he_?

He had a name, of that he was certain. He had one at one point...what had it been? All that came to mind were flashes of bright red, like flames. Flames, fire...light of the sacred flame...ashes, Asch? No, no, that was not _his_ name, though parts of him seemed to stir at the mention of that. Flames, fire...a pair of blue eyes gazing at him over the embers, concern poorly hidden.

_"Are you sure you're alright, Lu--"_  
_  
"--uke, you sure can be a pain sometimes._" The scene shifted to the feeling of a leather-gloved hand clapping him on the back, a familiar grin upon a tanned face.

Golden curls danced in the sunlight as stormy eyes cast a glare upon him, hands placed on thin hips. "_Are you even listening to me? Argh, honestly Lu--"_

_"--ke, you shouldn't cut Guy off like that._" Fingers reached up to adjust a pair of glasses, crimson eyes sparkling with barely contained mirth.

_"Boo! You can be so mean, Luke!_" A pink tongue peeked out at him, a young face screwed up into an expression of childish defiance.

Luke?Yes, that was it, his name was Luke. But what did that mean? Who were those people?

Who was Luke?

He didn't know...all he knew was somewhere, somehow...he was needed. Those people who he could not name, he had promised something...he needed to find them, somehow...

But no, no, he couldn't yet...he'd need a body, for one thing. The fonons were there, the parts needed, the memories...he knew they were there, somehow, he just had to reach for them. It would be difficult, but he had promised something.

And so Luke, or something akin to him, began to stir.

_'Wait...just wait guys...I'm coming...'_

---  
**  
To Be Continued...  
**  
_Every time someone reads this chapter and doesn't review, Luke dies __again__. Please. think of poor Luke._


	2. Hope

**-Interim-**

**A Tales of the Abyss fic by Digitaldreamer**

**Part Two: Hope**

**---**

_  
Annnd now for part two...um, yeah. The usual warnings that I may not have everything down quite right apply, and um...not much else to say, I guess._

_I apologize for the shortness and happy holidays!  
_  
---

Hot.

It was far too hot, and all Lady Susanne could do was lay there and breathe, too weak to even move. Sweat soaked her red hair as it splayed across the sheets, her aged, gentle face twisted into an expression of anguish.

The doctor gave a sigh as he removed the thermometer from her mouth, glancing critically at it. "She is not doing well...not well at all." He murmured grimly, glancing at Duke fon Fabre.

The man grimaced as he looked at his wife, hands clenching into fists at his sides. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"At this point? No." The doctor shook his head. "Right now, all we can do is try to keep her cool and hope for the best."

"Nnngh...ke..." Lady Susanne moaned in her sleep, twisting in the sheets.

"Susanne?" Her husband was at her side in an instant, hands clasped around hers. "What is it?"

"...Luke..." The red-haired woman gave a soft sob in her sleep, her expression one of fevered anguish. "Come back...please come back...Luke..."

Duke fon Fabre's brow furrowed, green eyes darkening. "Oh, Susanne..."

It was then that quite suddenly the doors were thrust open and Natalia walked briskly in, her clothes appearing slightly messy, her hair somewhat lackluster. "Princess Natalia, please, you've only just returned, you really should be resting!" A servant cried, leaning against the doorway and panting as if he'd run a mile.

Natalia turned to him, flashing a quick smile. "I am fine, I assure you. Thank you for your concern." With that, she turned back to the occupants of the room. "Uncle, I was just returning from my trip to St.Binah when I heard the news...how is Aunt Susanne?"

"She seems to be growing worse." The Duke sighed as he forced himself to straighten, to appear more dignified. "She was already terribly weak, but it appears the grief over losing two sons is weighing heavily upon her."

Natalia made her way across the room, stopping at her Aunt's bedside. "Aunt Susanne..." She whispered, her expression one of pain as she gazed down at her relative.

"Luke..." The lady of the house sobbed feverishly, panting for breath.

Her niece glanced at Duke Fabre, as if asking for permission. At his nod she reached out and took Lady Susanne's hands in hers, eyes fluttering shut as she began to murmur under her breath.

"Princess!" The servant in the doorway gasped, recognizing the healing trance. "You shouldn't be--"

"Aunt Susanne...please, hear my words..." Natalia whispered, oblivious now to anything outside of herself and the lady of the house. "Please...listen."

"Luke?" Susanne breathed.

The blonde shook her head. "No, I am your niece...do you remember?"

"Luke..." The mother's voice tapered off into a sob again, her entire body shuddering.

"Aunt Susanne, please, you have to listen to me!" Natalia pleaded, brow knitting together as her hands clenched around her Aunt's. "I know it's been three months now, but you cannot lose hope! I was there, I was one of the last to see your son, and he promised, he _will_ return! Please, you must have faith!"

Her Aunt lay there, brow furrowing in her sleep. "...Luke..." She whispered, her breathing relaxing somewhat.

Natalia gave a small smile. "Yes, Luke. How do you think he will feel if he returns only to find you've died? You must stay strong for him, Aunt Susanne...we all must be strong. He will be back...he promised."

Lady Susanne took a final shuddering breath, an expression of peace finally coming to her face. "Luke..." She murmured, finally relaxing.

Her niece gave a sigh as she released the red-haired woman's hands, glancing up at Duke Fabre and smiling. "I have eased her fever somewhat...she should be fine for awhile now, at least." Natalia said gently.

Duke Fabre smiled. "I am glad. Thank you, Natalia." He then frowned. "Although...was it wise to give my wife false hope? It _has_ been four months..."

"It was not false hope." Natalia stated as she stood, chin jutting out defiantly as she looked Duke Fabre in the eye. "Luke will return."

Her Uncle stared at her for a few long moments, then sighed and nodded. "Very well. I'll trust your word, Princess."

"Princess Natalia! Now that this is done, you really must be going, your father is eager to see you." The servant urged from the door.

Natalia sighed, brushing a curl of gold from her eyes. "Yes, yes, I'm coming." She said, making her way towards the door. "I am sorry Uncle, but he's right, I must take my leave. I trust you will be fine now?" She asked, looking back to the Duke.

He nodded. "I believe she will be, for now..."

His niece smiled. "Then I bid you farewell." With that, she stepped out into the hallway. As she made her way through the now far quieter halls of Fabre manor, her servent twittering behind her, she couldn't help but think. _'I certainly hope the words I told her were not false...no, no, I mustn't think that. It can't be false.'_ The princess took a deep breath and shook her head, once again saying what had become her mantra.

"Surely, he will come."

---

No matter how many times he came to Daath, Jade could never say he'd enjoyed it. The city was dreary in a way that even he had trouble coming to terms with, and suffice to say, he did not have the fondest of memories regarding the place. To be honest, however, what irked him most about the place was the way the religious devotees made their way around the place, gushing about Yulia and the Order of Lorelei. Jade had never been a religious man, and to see all these people mucking about smiling in the sunshine, having no idea of the atrocities that had been committed in their midst, had never sat well with him. Even with the reform slowly taking place and the mask of the Order slowly crumbling, he still found it aggravating.

Perhaps it was because the city reminded him more of himself than he was willing to admit... or perhaps he simply felt the Cathedral was a shade of brown he really didn't care for. Regardless, it wouldn't change the fact that Jade truly didn't care for Daath, and it was unlikely this opinion would be changing anytime soon. Thus, when Peony had ordered him to check up on things there, Jade had been rather reluctant to go...really though, anything was preferable to Peony's brilliant plans to fit Jade for a rappig costume, so he hadn't been nearly as reluctant about the matter as he could have been.

"Colonel!" A pair of pink-clad arms quite suddenly encircled Jade from behind. If anyone had dared to suggest that perhaps this had been the true reason to Jade's lack of reluctance, they would have ended up with an interesting view of a spear before it ended up quite securely lodged in their face.

Even if it just _might_ have been true.

"Ah...Anise, fancy seeing you here." Jade drawled, adjusting his glasses. "Are you quite done trying to squeeze the life from me?"

"Uh-uh!" How Anise managed to shake her head with her face pressed into the back of Jade's uniform was anyone's guess. "You're just like a giant teddy bear, Colonel!"

"A giant teddy bear with frail bones." Jade added.

"_Boo!_" Anise huffed, finally releasing Jade and stepping back so he could turn to face her. "You are such a fun killer!"

Jade shrugged. "What can I say? I live to steal joy from others, the look of disappointment upon your face fills me to the brim with glee."

The fifteen-year old rolled her eyes. "You could at least _try_ to be less shameless about it." She muttered, putting her hands on her hips. "Anyway, what brings you to Daath?"

"Oh, I'm just stopping by to check on things...orders from his Majesty and all." The military commander said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, beginning to walk once again. Anise followed, leaving Jade to shorten his stride a tad so she wouldn't have to struggle to keep up. "In all honesty, I'm rather surprised to see you...I was under the impression training to be the next Fon Master would be eating up all of your precious time."

At these words Anise winced, then looked to the ground. "Oh...well, you know, things are kind of in a slow patch right now..." She muttered, scuffing at the ground with her shoe.

Jade stared at her for a moment, frowning. "...You have not yet begun, have you?"

Things were silent for a moment, then Anise shook her head. "No, we've started working on the Order...it's just taking a lot longer than we thought. With the world how it is right now, it's been really chaotic...and...well..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"...Your father went and gave away your savings again, didn't he?" Jade asked after another few moments of silence.

Anise gave a slow nod. "D-don't get me wrong, it's not like with Mohs, just... yeah. Like I said...things are getting really tough on the Order, and money's been really tight, so..."

"You haven't been able to find a patron." Jade finished for her, cutting off any rambling excuses.

The girl huffed. "Don't say that! I have Luke!" She snapped, glaring at Jade. "It's just...he's...you know..."

Jade gave a sigh as he reached up and adjusted his glasses. "He always was rather slow." He murmured.

"Yeah, no kidding." Anise muttered, sighing as well.

The two stood in silence for a moment, contemplating this. Finally, Anise broke it with a question. "Colonel...is it even possible that Luke survived?"

"What's that, Anise? Are you doubting your patron already?" Jade teased gently.

"I'm not doubting him!" Anise snapped, then bit her lip. "Well...okay, maybe a little...it's just...I mean, the longer he takes and the more I think about it..."

"The sillier it seems." Jade concluded. At Anise's nod he sighed again. "I cannot deny that I have begun to wonder as well...according to all reason and logic, he should be dead."

"Yeah, but..." Anise glanced up at the former scientist, brow furrowing. "Luke...he promised..."

"Indeed...and he was never one for following reason and logic, either." Jade drawled.

"So...you think there's a chance..." Anise trailed off, seeming unsure.

"That he could still be alive?" Jade finished, adjusting his glasses again. "Well...allow me to put it this way. The chance of Luke surviving the fall of Eldrant, on top of his seventh fonon's dissipating, are about one in a million."

Anise bit her lip, tugging Tortunaga to her. "But...you've said before that he's had worse odds, hasn't he?"

At this, Jade gave a small smile. "Indeed I have."

"So maybe--"

"Luke would have actually won that last round of poker had we given him the chance? I'm not entirely sure, I mean, Guy had quite a hand there." Jade cut her off, grinning wickedly.

"Colonel!" Anise cried. "_Boo!_ That's mean, taunting me with stories I'm not old enough to be a part of!"

At this Jade chuckled. "Oh, I'm certain if you had been involved you would have trumped us all, Anise."

"Damn straight!" The dark-haired girl huffed, putting her hands on her hips. After a few seconds, however, her expression softened slightly. "...But what about Luke surviving?"

Jade said nothing for a moment, he merely gazed out at the rest of the cathedral. It seemed the two of them had somehow ended up standing on the bridge that threaded across the central area of the building...the exact place where he had spoken to Luke before the Tower of Rem incident, to be precise. _'How strange...'_ Jade thought. _'To think my feet would lead me here again...'  
_  
"Colonel?" Anise poked him in the side. "Coooloneeel? Are you in there?"

"Hm? Ah, I apologize, I was thinking." Jade murmured, shaking his head. "At any rate, I think...well, he had quite the impossible odds...however..."

"...He's never had trouble with impossible odds before." Anise finished, a smile coming to her face.

"Indeed."

The child next to him cocked her head to the side, brow furrowing. "So, you think--"

"He will return?" Jade finished for her. He was silent for a moment, leaning against the rail, a far-away look coming to his eyes. His mind went back to what felt like eons ago, back to when he stood here with a heavy heart and said what he must, longing more than anything that it could be something different, anything to take the weight from those frail shoulders. "...I am hesitant to give a definite answer to a mere theory and guesswork, but...yes."

"I want to believe that he will come."  
_  
---_

Grand Chokmah was as beautiful as it had always been, and Tear couldn't help but reflect on this as she made her way through the streets. Her heels clicked upon the cobblestone as she threaded her way through the gaggles of people going this way and that, laugher ringing through the air and mingling with the noise of the waterfalls in a strange sort of music. A group of children rushed past, quite nearly knocking her over, and the Fonic Hymnist couldn't help but smile and shake her head before continuing along.

It took a bit of time, but eventually the Malkuth House of Nobles came into view, the great mansion sprawling from beyond great expanses of highly polished statues and foutains. Tear couldn't help but pause to admire the beauty of the place before making her way towards the great double doors.

She was visiting on business, really, but it wouldn't hurt to check in, would it?

A servant had been there to greet her, and upon catching sight of her had smiled. "Ah, yes, Colonel Curtiss did say we might be seeing you." He said, something Tear had not been surprised by at all, in spite of the fact that there really hadn't been much of a warning to her coming. "Come in, come in! Master Guylardia is in his workroom, but I'm sure he'll appreciate your company."

"Workroom?" Tear repeated, brow furrowing slightly as she followed the servant through the halls of the mansion.

When she finally arrived at the room, her expression had changed from confused to amazed. "Oh my..." She murmured, royal blue eyes widening. Fon machines of all sorts cluttered the room, some lying in bits and pieces on various tables, while others towered high towards the ceiling, gleaming magnificently. Still others moved on their own accord, steam shooting into the air and clouding a variety of whirring gears and flashing lights.

The creator of these all could be found at the very back of the room, nearly hidden by all these various gadgets. At the sound of the door opening, Guy jumped, quite nearly dropping the machine in his hands out of surprise. He then tensed, his entire body twitching out of irritation as he pulled the goggles from his eyes. "Damnit, I've already walked his rappigs today!" The blond growled, setting down whatever he'd been fiddling with and rounding on his visitor. "I told you, Razputin, what I'm I don't want anymore interruptions, so please just--" The words died on his lips as Guy recognized his visitor. "Tear!?"

Tear blinked at him, taking a step back. "Um...well, if you were really that busy. I could--" She began, but was cut off.

"Oh, nonsense! I'm really glad to see you!" The blond laughed, pulling the goggles from his head and setting them down on the worktable. His face and clothes were covered in grease. "Sorry about that, Peony just keeps interrupting my work with all these odd jobs and it gets kinda irritating, that's all."

"So I see." The woman gave a small laugh and shook her head. "What are you working on?" She asked, glancing around at the various objects. "These all look...interesting..."

"Oh, um...nothing big..."Guy trailed off, grinning sheepishly. He really hated to bore his friends with his odd hobbies. "Just a few inventions, an alternate energy source...nothing big."

"...An alternate energy source?" Tear repeated, eyebrows raising as she continued to glance around.

The blond scratched his head and blushed. "Um, yeah...it's ah...called electricity. I've mostly got it all worked out, actually." He mumbled, fiddling absently with a shirt button.

Tear stared at one of the gadgets, her eyes wide. "Wow...this is amazing.." She murmured. "I'm surprised you haven't sold anything yet."

Guy shrugged. "Well, I've had offers...I'm not willing to sell just yet, though." He said as he took an object from a shelf and began fiddling with it absently.

His guest frowned, looking up from a small mechanical cheagle and blinking. "Why not?"

"Because..." The blond focused on the object in his hands, brow furrowing. "I can't sell them yet...I have to show _him_ first."

"Him?" Tear repeated, brow furrowing.

Guy gave a small smile as he looked back to her. "Yeah...this stuff, all of it...it's all for him when he comes back." He murmured, sapphire eyes meeting hers. "Cause you know...for all of his rambling about how stupid this stuff was...when he was little, he always told me how cool it was when I actually finished something."

Tear looked back at him, her frown deepening, as she _really_ took a look at Guy this time. He really seemed thinner than last time...and upon closer inspection, even all the grease on his face wasn't doing so well at hiding the bags under his eyes. "...Guy...how much time have you spent working on these?" She asked.

Guy cocked his head to the side, his smile turning almost sad. "How much time?" He shrugged. "Probably about as much time as you've spent perfecting your singing, working out in that garden of yours instead of sleeping, taking care of those selenias instead of eating...am I right?" He murmured, his eyes darkening.

Tear bit her lip and looked away. "It's...I'm not...he really liked my garden, so--"

"It's for when he gets back...trust me, I know." The blond smiled as he set down the gadget, then brushed past her. "You work and work...because that's all you can do, until he comes back and can give it the Luke Sign of Approval."

The brunette gave a sigh as she turned, eyes following him. "Guy, you really should..._we_ really should...it isn't--"

Sapphire eyes turned to gaze into hers, and in that gaze Tear saw herself. She saw it all...pain, loneliness, a desperation...and a belief in hope. A powerful flame that would not die, because they both refused to let it go out.

Without it, they had nothing left.

"...I think he'll really like this one when he comes back, don't you think?" Guy asked with a grin, holding up the mechanical cheagle Tear had been inspecting earlier.

Tear gazed at him for a moment...then she smiled. "Yes...I think he will." Yes, he would, they both believed...and it was that companionship in that belief that kept them going.

For surely, he would come.

---

He reached.

He reached and reached with fingers that did not yet exist, searching, searching, though what it was that he was searching for, he was not quite sure.

He wasn't quite sure, and yet, he searched.

Occasionally he would grasp at something, a memory, a feeling, something, only to have it slip from his grasp. Other times it would all rush at him, a sudden mini-flurry of feelings and sensations, memories of the wind rushing past and thousands of words spoken with smiles, glares, laughter, tears, hurt, joy...everything.

Sometimes, he would find memories that somehow he knew were not quite his, memories that hurt to feel, memories with a face that was his but not. These memories spoke to something within him, calling to a quietness within that did not belong to him and yet...it did belong, fitting together with him in a way that made no sense and made perfect sense all at once.

It was confusing, it was terribly confusing...there were so many things he knew and did not know. He had done great things, amazing things that others could only dream of, and yet he had also done horrible things, terrible things with memories he could not stand to touch because they hurt too much to do so. He was himself, and yet he was not, because there was someone who was also him but not.

It was a terrible, jumbled mess of feelings and emotions, of raw sensations and tints of small somethings, of actual memory and twisted possibilities...but he would have to sort through it.

Yes, he would have to, because they were waiting, somewhere...and though he still knew very little and very much all at once, above all else he knew this. They were waiting, and he had promised.

Luke fon Fabre smiled with lips that did not quite exist, and newly formed limbs curled closer, toes coiling inward as he bathed in that golden light. He still had a lot to do, but he was more than willing to keep trying.

They were still hoping, after all. He couldn't let them down.

---

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Break

**-Interim-  
A Tales of the Abyss Fanfic by Digitaldreamer**

**Part Three: Break**  
**---**

_  
Soooo who likes angst? I like angst! This is good, because this part? Lots and loooots of angst._

_I know you're thrilled._

_Right, well then... onward, I suppose.  
_  
---

Anise was first.

Two months after Jade's visit to Daath, the military commander opened his door to find Anise on his doorstep, beaming.

"Anise?" Jade took a step back, absently thankful for the many years spent schooling himself to keep a straight face even under the most startling of circumstances. And indeed, finding a pig-tailed head on level with his chest when he had only just stepped outside was something he considered startling, not that he would be one to admit that.

"Colonel!" Anise chirped, a far-too wide smile stretching across her face. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"...well, seeing as it is _my_ mansion, I can't imagine it'd be that much of a surprise." Jade pointed out, adjusting his glasses.

"_Your_mansion?" Anise repeated, blinking. "Oh wow, how did I end up here? Gee, Grand Chokmah sure is a big place, I'd forgotten how easy it is to get lost!" She said, still smiling far too widely.

Jade looked at her for a moment, then sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Very well, come in and have some tea." He muttered, turning on his heel and heading back inside. Really, he technically had work to be done, but it could wait.

Anise beamed. "Why thank you, Colonel!" She nodded, stepping in and following Jade to the drawing room.

Soon enough the two were situated in large chairs, Tokunaga seated happily in Anise's lap, and a maid was placing a tray with two mugs full of steaming tea before them. "Wow...you have an amazing place." Anise murmured, her eyes wide as she glanced around. "It's a lot cleaner than your office too...it almost looks like you don't really live in it."

"Ordinarily, I don't." Jade said with a shrug as he took a sip of his tea. She was stalling, he was well aware, but he really did not feel the need to press it. She'd talk when she was ready.

"Really? Why not?" Anise blinked, looking surprised. "If _I_had a house like this, I'd never want to leave!"

Jade shrugged. "I find it excessive, to be honest. At any rate, I'm usually too busy to come anywhere near this place."

"Oh, poor Colonel." Anise gasped.

"Oh, it's hardly worth pitying me for." The military commander drawled. "I am the one who chose the work, after all, even if the paperwork I have to put up with once all the screaming has died down is rather troublesome."

Anise stared at him for a moment. "S-screaming?" She repeated, eyes widening slightly.

"Indeed...it's a shame, live subjects die so easily... perhaps I should consider His Majesty's rappigs as a cheap replacement." Jade muttered, putting a hand to his head. "But then of course, Guy would have nothing to do, and we can't have that."

His guest giggled. "Colonel!"

"Oh, I assure you, I'm quite serious Anise, whatever was that laugh for? My concerns are for nothing more than Guy's wellbeing." Jade declared, sounding offended, though his eyes were sparkling with mirth.

"Uh huh, sure, Colonel." Anise snickered. "How's Guy doing, anyway? Has he gotten over his phobia yet?"

At this Jade's eyes darkened slightly. "Guy... to be honest, I cannot say he is doing very well." He murmured.

Anise's expression became one of sadness, her shoulders slumping. "Still working on his fon machines and refusing to come out, huh?"

The bespectacled Fonist nodded. "I am afraid so."

His guest bit her lip, hugging Tokunaga to her chest. "Guy...I'm worried about him...someone should talk to him. Maybe I'll go visit him later..."

"Indeed, I'm certain he'll appreciate it once the crying dies down." Jade said, offering a small half smile as he adjusted his glasses again. "Assuming, of course, that you'll have time after you're done with whatever you're here for."

"Oh," Anise sat upright at that, she had almost forgotten. "O-of course! You know how it is... same boring old business from Daath."

"Indeed." Jade sipped his tea again, saying nothing more.

A heavy silence fell over the room as Anise fidgeted, she had yet to even touch her tea and she was running out of subjects to talk about. She scratched her nose, which Jade took as a sign for him to set down his tea cup.

"Well then, Anise, it was nice chatting with you, but if you have nothing else to say..." Jade trailed off, fixing her with a crimson stare.

Anise bit her lip. "I...Colonel..." She squirmed in her seat.

Jade watched her for another minute. "...This wouldn't have anything to do with your money situation, would it, Anise?

His guest flinched, then gave a nervous laugh. "Why Colonel, whatever are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing." Jade shrugged, though his eyes remained narrowed even as he allowed a fake smile to dance across his lips. "After all, how ever could I accuse such a sweet little child of such a motive?"

"I am not a child!" Anise huffed, her cheeks puffing out as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm fifteen, five years until I'm adult, thank-you-very-much!"

"Of course not." Jade murmured, adjusting his glasses. "My apologies."

The two sat in silence for another moment, then Anise sighed, letting out all of her air in a steady stream. "So um...Colonel...let's say, hypothetically, I _did_ want to borrow some money...what would you say?"

Jade propped his head in his hands. "Well, I'd say it wouldn't exactly be borrowing, since technically you would never be able to pay me back, am I correct?"

Anise huffed. "You don't need to put it that way!"

"Why ever not? It's true." Jade quirked a brow at her. "And I do believe you asked Luke to be your patron, didn't you?"

His guest flinched, her expression becoming pained for a moment before her mask of cheer returned. "Well, y-yes." She said. "But...well..."

"...You no longer believe he's going to return, do you?" Jade asked quietly, crimson eyes piercing and unforgiving as they stared her down.

"No!" Anise cried, shaking her head vehemently. "I-I believe he's going to come back! Really! He promised! He..." She trailed off again, biting her lip.

Jade watched her for a moment. "...It's difficult to continue believing something that by all means cannot be true." He finally said quietly. "We saw Eldrant collapse, we knew he was supposed to die...and it has been many months. Your monetary situation does not help things."

The fifteen-year old girl looked up at him, tears coming to her eyes before she squeezed them shut and nodded. "I-I..." Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to continue on. "I want to believe...but..." She looked away as she hugged Tokunaga to her chest, taking a shaky breath.

Her host watched her in silence as she struggled to compose herself, feeling something akin to sadness as he watched this little girl-woman in a still-growing body struggling to come to terms with it all and coming to the grim conclusion that perhaps even she hadn't quite accepted yet. She had given up. It was not something he could blame her for, hardly, when it was viewed logically it made perfect sense, and even from the irrational side Jade ordinarily ignored, the side that saw the girl in his library as the closest thing he had to a daughter and hurt at the sight of seeing her hurt... even from there, he could not blame her.

"...So then." He said after a moment. "What would you say to me giving you a loan?"

Anise blinked, startled as she turned back to Jade, her teary eyes widening. "Colonel!"

Jade shrugged. "I'm merely suggesting enough to get you started, I'm quite poor you must understand." He drawled as he adjusted his glasses.

"Colonel..." Anise giggled at that. "You..."

"You'll be able to pay me back as Fon Master, I'm sure?" Jade said, quirking a brow.

"O-of course! Why ever would I not pay you back, Colonel?" Anise beamed.

As the two continued to banter and discuss amounts, their false masks of harsh, uncaring nature and childish cheer pulled back into place, things fell back into relative comfort. Relative, because they did not touch the single rift that remained, the way that Jade failed to mention the amount he was offering was more than enough to simply 'get her started'. Perhaps once it would have been sufficient, but now it was clear...

She didn't believe he was coming back. Not anymore.

---

Not good enough.

This wasn't good enough.

Guy gave a growl of frustration as he shoved his latest project aside, the clatter of metal and screws ringing through the workroom as he bashed his head on the table. "Argh!" The blond gave a snarl of frustration, putting his head in his hands.

The room was silent for a few seconds...then came the sound of heels clicking on concrete. "Guy?" Natalia's voice rang through the room. "Guy, are you alright in there?" She appeared around a machine, brow furrowed in concern, golden hair gleaming even in the low light.

"Natalia?" Guy blinked, then scrambled to his feet (a force of habit as far as the Kimlascan princess was concerned), running a hand through his messier-than-usual hair. "What are you doing here?"

The princess nodded as she walked over to him, tossing her hair. "Well, I came on a peace mission, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to stop to see friends...assuming my presence is welcomed, at any rate." She said, cocking her head to the side as she came to a stop before him.

"Oh, of course, Princess, you know you're always welcome here." Guy said with a sincere smile. "Um...would you like a seat? I'll only be a few minutes putting everything away..." He said, glancing around at the mess that covered the tables.

"That would be fine." Natalia smiled as she checked to make sure a stool was clear before seating herself on it.

The blond chuckled as he began to put away various tools. "To think, I'm supposed to be a noble now and I'm still acting like a slob...old habits die hard, I guess." He said. "Anyway, how have you been?"

"Oh, quite busy." The princess said. "You know how it is...there is much to rebuild, much to do, and of course I intend to be there for my people every step of the way."

Guy chuckled again. "You haven't changed a bit, I see."

Natalia gave a quiet laugh. "I suppose I haven't. What of yourself, Guy?" She leaned forward slightly, though her brow furrowed. "From what I've heard, no one sees very much of you these days..."

"Oh..." Guy paused in putting away a tool, then shrugged and forced a grin. "You know how it is, busy. I, uh, wasn't aware other people noticed."

The princess frowned, ringing her hands as she looked imploringly at him. "...I...forgive me for prying, but I was told the only time you leave this room is to walk His Majesty Emperor Peony's rappigs, if you leave at all."

"...Ah." The blond looked away from her as he went back to putting things away. "Well, you know, like I said, things have been busy." He said.

Natalia watched him work in silence for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Guy... perhaps it would do you some good to take a vacation." She said, her voice shaking somewhat.

Guy paused, his shoulders tensing. "...Did Emperor Peony put you up to this?" He asked.

"No!" The princess shook her head vehemently, hands clenching into fists in her lap. "Well, perhaps...but even so, Guy, he's right! You _have_ been working nonstop, am I correct?"

The blond shook his head as he put away another tool. "I'm not working _that_often," He said. "I'm fine."

"No you are not!" Natalia cried, jumping to her feet. "Do not lie to me, Guylardia Gon Gardios!" At the sound of his full name Guy paused, though his back remained to her. The princess bit her lip, her entire body shaking, but after a moment she continued. "We all know...you have not willingly left this place in weeks. You're paler than you ever were before, Guy, you haven't been eating... please, everyone is worried about you."

"...Is that so?" Guy murmured.

"You know it to be true. You aren't well, Guy." Natalia said, still quivering. "Please... perhaps if you just took a break for awhile, just rested for a bit..." She reached out a hand for his shoulder, hesitant.

Her former servant jumped back, his entire body tensing as sapphire eyes flashed, his expression hard. After a moment he forced himself to relax, though his voice still carried a slight edge to it. "...Sorry, Natalia. Maybe I am a bit overworked." He forced a smile. "Look, I promise I'll take a vacation as soon as he gets back, okay?"

Natalia shook her head. "No, Guy. This is not healthy, it has to stop!"

Guy shook his head. "I can't yet... I have so much to show him, you know? Lots to do... I promise, when he gets back I'll relax, alright?"

The princess' hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Guy, you aren't well! This is foolishness. Please, at least leave this room, go outside, perhaps talk to...to some women!" She insisted.

Her former servant's eyes narrowed. "I told you Natalia, when he comes back I'll--"

"When he comes back!? Don't you see!? Luke isn't coming back, Guy!" Natalia cried.

Silence.

The instant she'd realized what she'd said, Natalia gasped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth. Her gray eyes flashed to Guy, whom stood there, frozen. She hadn't meant to say that...but her words hung there in the air now, and she could not take them back.

"...Not coming back?" Guy repeated, gaping at her. "Natalia... you don't really believe that, do you?"

The princess bit her lip, then looked away, unable to meet her former servant's gaze.

"...Natalia...how could you..." The blond shook his head, hands shaking at his sides. "He's your childhood friend, isn't he!? We were there, we watched him grow up together! Surely, you haven't given up on him?"

Natalia took a shaky breath, lowering her hand to where her heart lay. "...I... Guy..."

Guy shook his head again, hands clenching into fists. "Weren't you the one who kept insisting we had to believe in him!? Aren't you the one taking care of Lady Susanne now!? I...you...he promised he'd be back, don't you remember!?"

"Asch promised too!" Natalia cried, stormy eyes flashing.

At those words Guy's next sentence died in his throat, hard sapphire eyes meeting her teary ones. "Natalia..."

The princess shook her head. "Asch promised too, Guy... he promised he would live, that he would return... he did not. I...if Asch couldn't--"

"Luke isn't Asch, Natalia." Guy interrupted, his voice hard.

"I know that!" Natalia screamed. "I...I know that, now. But even so, the fact remains..." The blonde shook her head and took a deep breath, struggling to compose herself. "Guy... it's been nearly a year... surely, if he was going to return, he would have done it by now."

Guy looked at her for a moment, sapphire eyes dark. "...I'm getting back to work." He said finally, looking away from her and focusing again on his tools.

"Guy!" Natalia cried.

"If you're looking for a place to stay, I'd suggest you check with his Majesty. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to accommodate you." Guy said coolly, not looking up.

"Guy!" The princess repeated. "Please, at least consider visiting a doctor! Your body, it's--"

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Princess." As Guy spoke, his words were hollow, hand clenching far too tight on the tool he'd just picked up.

He would not accept it, he would not.

Natalia bit her lip, watching him for a moment. "I...Guy..." She trailed off, tears in her eyes. By saying what had just been said...she had just inflicted the worst blow she possibly could upon him.

She had hurt him...and there was no taking it back now.

"...Please Guy...get help." The princess murmured. With that, she turned and left, her heels clicking on the concrete once more. Guy remained where he was, bent over his work table, shoulders tense as he listened to her leave. There was a squeak of hinges as the door to the room opened, then closed.

And Guy was alone again.

---

_"Toue Rei Zue Kuroa Ryuo Toue Zue..."  
_  
The words fell from her lips, weaving into a perfect melody as they echoed across Tataroo Valley. Her gloved hands were clasped before her as she sat upon the rock, the wind brushing past her long hair in something like a caress. She felt the cool air tracing across her cheek, kissing at her nose and lips, only to vanish without a trace.

Was that him?

No, Tear would not allow herself to think that just yet. The warm sun beating down upon her was not his smile, the light sparkling across the ocean was not his gaze. The way the waves sea softly crashed against the beach was not his breath. The way the wind tousled her hair and seemed to almost cradle her in it's embrace was not his arms, the way the rain fell in a gentle rhythm across the earth was not him.

It was not him. She would not allow herself to see him there, because it was not him. He could not be everything even when she saw him in everything, for Luke was Luke and he would be returning to her soon enough.

He was in her dreams every night, after all.

The song continued, crescendo rising, nature almost seeming to join in on the soft melody that tumbled from her lips so very easily now. She sang and sang, her voice wafting through the air and across the selenias. Though they would not bloom during the day, she had seen them last night, and would more likely than not be seeing them tonight as well.

Tear was unsure what brought her here to this place...but it would not leave her mind, this place where it had all began. It invaded her dreams, the soft bed of grass and flowers as he lay beside her, green eyes sparkling in the moonlight and red hair twining through her fingers as he pulled her close. It invaded her thoughts, her mind, until it was all she could focus on.

Hence the time off.

The Fonic Hymnist gave a sigh as the song finished, her royal blue eyes gazing off into the distance. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for... she didn't know. According to all sense, according to everything she knew, he was dead. He was dead, and the soldier within her told her to move on. The soldier within her told her to move on, and yet, she could not.

He had promised.

Tear took a deep breath, then began to sing again, her voice echoing throughout the field.

He had promised. Surely, he would be back, any day, any day now...

---

Little by little, they stopped seeing each other. They all had jobs to return to, after all, that made sense...but slowly the month or two between visits became three or four, the Albiore went unused, letters stopped coming.

They could not see each other... not because they were not all friends, as two years spent struggling to save the world would certainly turn any group into the closest of companions. In a way, they were more than friends... they were a family of sorts, however disjointed and unorthodox. A family, perhaps... but it did not change the fact that they could not see each other.

It hurt too much.

As hope waned, it became clear... though he had hardly done it of vicious intent, he had broken his way past their defenses, into all of their hearts, stumbling his way through life with unchecked energy and wild abandon. He brought chaos where there had once been order, and though they hadn't minded... now that he was gone, it hurt. Some had struggled against it, some had fought...but he had left pieces of himself with them, bits of ember and fire that burned brightly in their eyes before finally twisting and whithering to ash.

It hurt too much to see each other... because he had left too much of himself in them.

And so they stopped seeing each other... and those small flames began to whither and die.

Somewhere deep in the core, twisting and coiling amongst a sea of golden light, sobs wracking a form that did not exist, Luke hurt.

---  
**  
To Be Continued...**

_Every time someone reads this chapter and doesn't review, a rappig dies. Please, think of the rappigs._


	4. Home

**-Interim-**

**A Tales of the Abyss Fic by Digitaldreamer**

**Part Four: Home**

---

_  
Annnd here's the last part. Originally, this was meant to be a one-shot, but since it was going to be so long I decided to make it four parts instead. I suppose it worked well enough, right?_

_...well, I hope it did anyway._

_Well, thank you for all the reviews last chapter, I'm glad you all enjoyed the angst. Hopefully this last bit won't dissappoint. :P_

_Um...not much else to say, so enjoy part four, I suppose._

---

"Jade."

Jade didn't even look up from the book he was reading.

"Jade!"

The military commander took a sip of his tea, then turned a page.

"Jaaade!"

A small hum, then another flip of a page.

"_Jaaaaaaaaaaaade_!" Emperor Peony's voice took on the tone of a low whine. "Come on, look at me!"

The bespectacled fonist blinked and glanced up from his book, flashing a not-so-apologetic not-smile. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry Your Majesty. You know when I'm reading I have a tendency to filter out obnoxious background noise."

Peony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I-- ...wait a second, I am _not_ just obnoxious background noise!"

"Of course not." Jade drawled, closing the book and setting it aside before smiling unpleasantly up at him. "Now what is it that you find so important that you feel the need to interrupt the rare time when I am not at your beck and call?"

The emperor gave a sigh. "Did you look through your mail?"

"No."

Peony snorted. "Oh right, I forgot, you don't do that sort of thing." He said with a small laugh. "Well, I guess you wouldn't know then." The emperor shrugged, then pulled a crumpled and somewhat dirty, but still royal-looking envelope from the folds of his clothing. "Well, here then."

Jade wrinkled his nose at the envelope. "Your Majesty, the way you treat your mail is appalling."

"At least I don't burn it without even reading it like some people." Peony pointed out. "Now go on, take it."

The military commander rolled his eyes, but never-the-less took the envelope. He pulled out a beaten-looking letter and unfolded it, crimson eyes scanning across it quickly. "...An invitation to Luke's Coming of Age ceremony?" He murmured, brow furrowing.

Peony nodded gravely.

Jade gazed thoughtfully down at the letter. "...So then... they've given up on him."

The Emperor sighed. "You don't have to say it like that, it's not like it's his funeral or anything."

"It may as well be. They've already dug him a grave, after all." Jade said with a shrug, refolding the letter without much care and placing it back in the envelope.

Peony frowned as he watched his best friend carefully. Though Jade gave no outward appearance of even giving the slightest thought over the matter, he knew better. "...Do you intend to go?" He asked.

"No." Jade said flatly, taking another sip of his tea.

His best friend stared at him for a moment, brow furrowing. "Jade..."

"No." The colonel repeated, crimson meeting bright blue. "I'm afraid I'm simply far too busy for such a pointless visit. Why ever would I want to spend a few hours in a room full of overly emotional nobles and energetic youngsters when I have so much work to do here?" He drawled, adjusting his glasses.

The two of them both knew that was a lie. Jade had done very little for the past few weeks, and from the looks of his schedule, that was unlikely to change anytime soon. Not that he worked very often anyway.

Peony frowned. "Jade..." He tailed off, his expression sad.

"Well, you have my reply, Your Majesty." Jade interrupted, standing. "I'm afraid I'm quite busy, however, so if you'll excuse me." With that, he began a brisk walk through the library towards the door.

"Wait, Jade." Peony called after him. "Maybe...maybe it's time for you to move on."

Jade paused. "...Why, Your Majesty, you sound as if you think I honestly care." He said, sounding surprised.

"Don't give me that, Jade." The emperor growled, standing and folding his arms. "Hide it behind that cold smile and those insults all you like... maybe everyone couldn't tell, but there's no way I could miss it. You really did genuinely care for all of them...for him."

"Care?" Jade scoffed as he shrugged. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about. Perhaps I would have felt their loss as useful fighters, but other than that I can honestly say I could care less."

He was a master of lies, but even that did not seem to be enough.

Peony watched him in silence for a moment. "...I know," He finally murmured. "I know...you were all waiting. But it's been nearly a year, Jade. If Luke...if he were to return, he would have done it by now."

"...I am aware." Jade said coolly.

The blond emperor gave a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "If you won't go for yourself...then please go in my stead?"

Jade glanced over his shoulder, crimson eyes narrowing. "...Is that an order?"

"If you won't go willingly, then yes." Peony said.

"...Very well." Jade sighed, finally nodding in consent before looking away again.

"Good." Peony murmured softly. He gave another sigh, gazing out the window. "It's funny...I guess in a way I was hoping he would come back if only it would feel less like it's our fault for asking him to die...but it seems there's no way out of this one, is there?"

The bespectacled Fonist shook his head and adjusted his glasses, closing his eyes for a moment. Though he would not admit it, rarely did a day go by where his mind didn't wander back to Daath, when the fateful words had tumbled from his lips, placing the weight of the world on that boy's shoulders. Rarely a day went by when he couldn't see innocent green eyes gazing up at him, trusting him, always trusting.

Jade was not one to dwell on things like guilt or regret, not if he could help it. Even so...the fact that the boy had joined Professor Neblim in the few dreams he had... it wasn't something he appreciated. Anything would be preferable to those eyes gazing at him, again and again those words ringing in his ears. _"Would you really ask me to die?"_

_I already have._

_"Jade...would you?"_

_Yes, I did. Stop._

_"Jade, why?"_

_Stop looking at me like that._

_"Jade?"_

_Stop. This is ridiculous, you're already--_

"Jade?"

The military commander gave a sigh, putting his hands behind his back. "I've already agreed. Now then, if you'll excuse me, Your Majesty, some of us actually have work to do." With that, he exited the library.

Perhaps it _was_ time to move on. Jade wasn't sure why he hadn't yet... he was never one to trust others, or to believe empty promises. He supposed, in a way, it couldn't be helped... that boy had wormed his way into Jade's heart against his will, and whether Jade liked it or not, he wanted nothing more than for that boy to return. Perhaps it had been foolishness to believe, and he wanted to deny ever doing so, but he had. He _had_ believed... but his theory had not come to pass, and it had been a year.

Two of them had already let go, perhaps it was time for him to do so as well. After all...for Luke to return at this point, there would have to be a miracle.

And Jade had never believed in miracles.  
_  
_---

It had been a gray day in Grand Chokmah when Noelle arrived in the Albiore. She had greeted Jade with a happy smile, though she'd barely been noticed seeing as Anise had promptly flung herself across the room and glomped the Colonel.

It had been the first time they'd seen each other in months, after all.

After an excited babble from Anise and a few quips from Jade, the trio found themselves making their way to Gardios Manor, casual chit-chat going this way and that. It was only when they entered that they stopped, seeing how what they'd come for was in the entryway, lacing up his boots.

"Guy?" Natalia paused in the doorway, brow furrowed. "You received my summons, then?"

Guy glanced up at his visitors, then smiled. "Ah, hello Princess, Jade, Anise." He nodded to each in turn. "I got your message, but I'm still surprised to see you, Natalia."

"Oh, well..." Natalia gave a shy smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, preparations are finished, so...I thought I may as well accompany Noelle to come retrieve you all."

"Sure was nice of her, huh?" Anise beamed. "I'd forgotten how much I've missed the Albiore, everything's so pretty from way up high!"

"Airsickness aside, I'm sure." Jade drawled, adjusting his glasses.

Anise huffed as Noelle yelped. "Colonel, I'm fine! Noelle's flying is perfectly smooth!" She assured, causing the pilot to smile.

"Yeah." Guy chuckled as he stood, running a hand through his hair. "I admit I would kind of like to see the Albiore again...but you guys do know I'm not coming with you, right?"

Natalia frowned. "What ever do you mean?"

Jade gave a sigh. "You see, Princess? I already informed you, he's far too stubborn." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Guy quirked a brow at that, putting a hand on his hip. "Call me stubborn if you like, but I have no intention of attending the funeral of a person who isn't dead." His eyes narrowed dangerously at those words, voice taking on a somewhat cold tone.

"Guy!" Natalia gasped. "It's not a funeral, it's his Coming of Age ceremony! We're celebrating his life and you were one of the most important parts of it, you should be honored to attend."

"Celebrating his life?" The blond snorted. "It's a glorified memorial service...and you all know that as well as I do."

Anise scowled. "That's not true, Guy! It's..." She trailed off, then shook her head and huffed. "It's not like that!"

"Oh yes, indeed, because you sit around and toss around memories for a person no longer there at birthday parties." Jade commented.

"Colonel!"

The crimson-eyed fonist shrugged. "I apologize...but Guylardia does have a point, hollow victory though it may be." He said, looking to Guy and quirking a brow. "I thought the exact same thing."

Guy shrugged as well. "Maybe so, but it's not stopping you from going, is it?" His shoulders slumped, brow furrowing. "...Jade...you too?"

Jade looked at him for a moment, then gave a sigh. "I am attending on behalf of Emperor Peony." He stated.

"Maybe so...but it doesn't change the fact that you've given up too, does it?" The blond asked, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

The eldest of the group was silent as the rest of the group turned their attention to him, then looked away. "...I cannot help but wonder if perhaps it is time to move on, I suppose." He finally murmured.

Anise bit her lip and looked to the floor. After a few moments of silence she finally spoke. "We haven't been able to get in contact with Tear... no one has. I'm worried about her. I mean, Natalia sent her an invitation, but--"

"I wouldn't go looking for her." Guy stated as he walked across the room, taking his traveling coat from the rack and shrugging it on. "If I know Tear... you can look all you want, but you aren't going to find her. Even if you found her, she wouldn't come... that much, at least, I know. She and I..." He trailed off, then shook his head.

Natalia winced. "Guy... please, won't you come with us? I... we...even you still believe he'll come back, I think it would be good for you to--"

"No." The blond shook his head, then flashed a smile. "Sorry Princess... but that's my final answer, and I have no intention of changing it. It was nice seeing you all again." With that, he brushed past all of them towards the door.

"Guy!"

The former servant paused at the doorway, then turned and smiled. "Sorry to leave you all, but I've gotta run. I'll see you all later." He said, giving a wave.

Jade's brow furrowed. "And where, may I ask, are you going?"

"Where?" The blond shrugged.

"There's just...somewhere I need to be."

With that, he was gone.

---

"So...you came too, huh?"

Tear blinked in surprise, then turned, her long hair billowing in the wind as blue eyes met those of a similar color. "Guy?"

"Yeah." The blond smiled as he walked through the grass and selanias, pausing a moment to take a deep breath. "Man, I forgot how beautiful this place was." He murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked around.

Tear's brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?" She asked, looking confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" Guy laughed, a genuine smile coming to his face for the first time in awhile. "The same reason you're here, isn't it?"

The Oracle Knight blinked. "I... suppose you're right." She murmured, a smile coming unbidden to her face as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"This is where you've been, right?" The blond asked. "Everyone's been wondering where you've gone off to. It doesn't help that you make yourself so damn hard to track."

Tear bit her lip. "I..." She trailed off, then nodded. "I... thought if I were on my own, at least then I wouldn't be worrying anyone."

Guy gave a small laugh at that. "You're better than me, then... I couldn't leave, so I locked myself in." He sighed and scratched his head. "I just... you know how I feel, right?" He asked. "Those other three, they had something to move on for afterwards, but we..." He trailed off, then swallowed thickly, unable to say it.

Out of five, only they hadn't given up, because they had nothing left.

His companion nodded, looking to the sea. "I... no, we... we love him too much to let go." She murmured.

"Yeah... I know what you mean." Guy murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets as he followed her gaze. "We love him."

Love. Not loved, because talking about someone in past tense was one of the first steps to letting go.

"...How did you know to come here?" Tear asked after a moment of silence.

The blond shrugged. "I just... knew. Like he was calling me." He grinned again. "Kinda stupid, huh?"

Tear shook her head. "No... no, I don't think it's stupid at all. I..." She drifted off into silence again, her eyes remaining fixed on the horizon.

Guy watched her for a moment, then smiled. "Well, shall we?"

Tear looked back to him, then smiled as well and nodded. Together, they made their way deeper into Tataroo valley.

They had a long wait until sunset...but at least they weren't alone.

---

Stuffy.

That was really the only way one could describe it, though the throne room was vast and more than roomy enough, it did not change the fact that the entire ceremony felt stuffy. People from all over the globe had gathered, some whom Luke had known and been friends with, while a large portion of them were simply nobles gathered simply because this was what nobles do.

And so, though it was expected, it did take some effort for them all to keep quiet as these great and powerful men and women, people whom had everything handed to them their entire lives, stood and gave great speeches of Luke's deeds. They spoke of what a wonderful person he was, how brave and noble, and it took effort to keep their mouths shut and to not snap about how they'd never even met him. They went on and on about what a hero he was and it took effort not to yell about how they had no right to even speak of him. They went on and on of his brave sacrifice, and it took everything the ones who truly knew him had not to scream about how they knew nothing at all about how much this world had cost.

Somehow, they held it all in, even when they stood to say their own speeches, doing their best to keep their eyes off of a shimmering casket that they knew was empty and always would be.

It was during the afterparty that Jade sat there in silence, a glass of wine held in a single gloved hand as he watched the proceeds with a slight measure of disgust. He knew he was a noble himself, but it didn't change the fact that he detested the lot. They were only at the ceremony to up their status, it had nothing to do with honoring the boy who had saved them all.

This was more of an insult to his memory than anything, really.

"Hey Colonel." Anise sighed as she flopped into a chair beside him. "Geez, what a party, huh?" She drawled, sounding completely and utterly bored.

"Indeed." Jade quirked a brow at her. "And here I thought you would appreciate this sort of thing."

Anise huffed as she crossed her arms. "The food's dry, and of course they won't let me have any wine, something about being 'underaged'."

Jade chuckled. "And I'm certain you will be getting that long after you actually_ are_ of age, dear Anise."

"_Boo_!" The girl pouted.

"It truly was not what I was expecting." Natalia sighed as she took a seat next to the two of them. She looked frazzled, having spent much of the party greeting her guests.

Jade quirked a brow. "Are you certain of that? Your father was the one who suggested it, correct? What more could you expect from such a gathering?"

The Princess blinked, then gave a sigh and a sad smile. "I suppose you are right."

"Indeed." Jade adjusted his glasses and gave a cold smile as he gazed around the room. "It would take far more than a boy giving his life to save the world in order change the majority of the upper class."

"Colonel!" Both girls gasped.

"Well, it is the truth." Jade shrugged.

Natalia bit her lip. "I...suppose you are right."

The three sat in silence for awhile, simply watching a party that they didn't belong to. Finally, Jade stood. "Well, I for one have had quite enough of this party. Shall we?" Both Natalia and Anise gave nods of agreement, and together the three of them stood and made their way out of the throne room, weaving past all sorts of "grieving" nobles.

They didn't belong there. They had somewhere to be, after all.

---

It was when the sun dipped below the horizon, long after it's soft rays of crimson had dipped below the horizon that Tear began to sing. Perhaps it was her way of singing a lullaby to those strands of red, slipping from her gaze the way his hair had slipped from her fingers. Regardless, she sang, her voice loud and clear as the selanias bloomed around them.

She sang, and Guy stood behind her, blue eyes fixed upon the horizon line, keeping silent vigil, just as he had one year prior.

She sang, he watched...and as time went on one by one they filed into the valley, their fancy clothes and uniforms billowing in the wind as they took their place behind Tear. Natalia stood with baited breath, stormy-gray eyes fixated upon the moon, hands pressed to her heart as she gazed on. Anise stood beside her, unusually quiet and solemn, black pigtails swirling around her head as her gloved hands relaxed at her sides. Jade summed up their little group, his tall frame silhouetted against the horizon, hands behind his back as his crimson eyes gazed steadily onward.

It had been one year since they had all gathered together in this place, one year since they had been together at all. It hadn't been planned, none of them had any intention of coming originally... yet there they were.

They didn't know why they were drawn there, what they were waiting for... all they knew was they were there. Something had lead them there, calling, insistently tugging at their hearts and minds until all they could do was follow that pull to where they were now.

And so they waited. Tear sang, her voice ringing throughout the valley, and they waited.

They waited, and just when they were about to leave... there he was.

Luke, or something akin to him, stood on the horizon crimson hair billowing around him as if he were made of the very rays of sunset that had vanished earlier, as if he were the sun itself and Tear had called him back. He stood, emerald eyes darker than they remembered and his smile a bit more restrained... but he was there.

He came back.

"Luke...you..."

No one was quite sure who said it... but somehow, that seemed to be what broke the spell. With smiles and laughter they all ran for him, Tear with her arms around him first and Guy not far behind, tears in his eyes even as he laughed and clapped his best friend warmly on the back. Anise latched around his waist and rambled on and on about how she'd known all along he would come, while Natalia took a moment wavering between two childhood friends before giving a tearful smile and embracing him as well. And still Jade stood behind, a small smile upon his face as he adjusted his glasses.

Of course, he could he doubt himself? He was rarely, if ever, wrong.

It had been an entire year...and though some had lost hope, some had wavered, while others clung desperately because they had nothing left... in the end, each of them had retained a small glimmer of hope. A wish to see him return, to fulfill that naive promise...and in the end, that had been enough.

And so as they all gathered and laughed and cried, all Luke could do was smile as he stretched newly created limbs. He still wasn't entirely sure who he was, though he was fairly sure of what he'd been... but in the end, it didn't matter. All that mattered was he was here now, with the people he had promised... the rest could wait until later. He had a lifetime to decide and a family to help, after all.

Besides... he had enough of waiting.

---

**-The End-**

_Annnd I'm done! Please review and tell me what you thought... I know it wasn't the most original premise, but I had a nice time writing it, and if you enjoyed it I'd really like to know._

_...oh, and every time a person reads this fic and doesn't review a kitten is born without legs. There's that too._


End file.
